Who gave Nicholas Blair the right to revive the dead? Tom knew that he had not been a ward to Hell's estate. Death had not been some trip into fire, brimstone, and eternal torture. Then again, death had not brought him back to his long lost loved ones; there had been no angels or sparkling dreamscapes in his afterlife. Still, it had been pure bliss for Tom. He found solace in the void that death had brought him. There were no responsibilities, no family drudgery, no Collins job, no Julia Hoffman, and, gratefully, no need for blood. Frustration no longer a chased him down. In truth, he felt little at all. His main emotion had been pure and unadulterated relief. He was finally where he wanted to be.
However, sometime during his calm, he began to feel pain. It seemed to pull on him, tugging him out of his heaven and dragging him somewhere else. Since he had no way to stop it, he allowed the pain to take him from his home and lead him to an unknown destination.
When he came to, he felt heavy, drugged. He looked up into his dulled surroundings and saw Nicholas Blair standing before him, stake in hand and a sneer on his face. Tom glanced to his side and recognized his nighttime home. Why was he in the coffin? What was happening?
Tom was most shocked to hear Blair command him to rise. Who did he think he was? He knew very well that he was dead and that, at this point in his existence, no one could tell him what and what not to do. But against his will, Tom's body crudely rose from its wooden sheath and stepped in front of its commander. Tom tried to talk, but he found he couldn't utter more than a squeak. Carefully, he touched the space over his heart, searching for the puncture wound that had ended his life. To his surprise, he couldn't find it. The skin over the injury had healed and even the rip in his shirt had been repaired. Somehow, he was alive again; he couldn't have felt sicker.
Tom listened weakly as Blair gave his order: kill Victoria Winters. He didn't offer a reason for this orchestrated murder. It didn't matter; Tom couldn't take the order seriously. Ms Winters was a bigger threat to herself than she ever could be to anyone else. He wouldn't kill her because he saw no need for it.
But once again, Tom's body fled the building when Blair told it to, taking flight quickly and touching down moments later outside Victoria's window at Collinwood. Tom didn't understand what was going on. Had he lost complete control of his own body? If he lived out this night, would he be damned into being Nicholas Blair's private lackey? This was worse than his first try at vampirism. At least then, he had been in control of his actions. Now, he was nothing more than a glorified puppet. Tom sensed that even if he fought his master's commands, he would eventually find himself following them to fruition.
As carefully as was now possible, Tom opened her window and slipped inside. For a moment, he stared at Ms Winters and marvel at her porcelain beauty. She possessed such thick hair and a slim, gentle frame. If he was being forced to kill a person, it might as well be her. To top it off, she would rise the next day as a vampire if he succeeded. Maybe Nicholas would let him keep her? If he was going to be an eternal slave, he might as well have someone around to keep him company. He would have to put in the request.
Before he could talk himself out of it, Tom crept into Victoria's room, sliding up to her bed with fangs extended. She looked lovelier with every step he took toward her. He watched as she stirred and, quite accidentally, looked up into his face. It only took a moment for her to realize that something was wrong and she screamed. She leapt out of bed and tried to escape the room. But she wasn't quick enough to escape Tom. He caught her not far from the door, causing Ms Winters to pass out. 'This is going to be so easy,' he thought as he wrapped her into his arms. He bent down and grazed his mouth against her neck, choosing to savor the taste and smell of her skin before he went for her blood. It had been months since he had last tasted another's flesh. He would enjoy this a good deal.
As he opened his mouth wider over her neck, Tom heard the door creek open. He looked up to see Barnabas Collins standing in the doorway, his eyes glazed over in fury as he looked at the scene before him. Blood would just have to wait. Tom let Victoria fall to the ground and turned to leave. He didn't bother to look behind him as he jumped out the opened window and took to flight. Unless things had drastically changed since he had died, no one would be able to follow him in the air.
Tom landed outside the House-by-the-Sea, panting and barely able to hold himself erect. Barnabas Collins knew that he was alive. If he wasn't able to get out of Collinsport, he probably wouldn't be so for much longer. He had to tell Nicholas that he had failed; he would take his punishment if he must, but he had to make him understand that he had been interrupted. He had to understand!
As he slowly approached the house, Tom could hear an argument going on. He attempted to run up to the house so that he could see what was going on, but his legs would not do as he told them to do. He could only walk with stiff, unwilling legs. Tom took a deep breath and slowly walked to the house, moving one leg at a time until he found some degree of comfort.
Tom slithered up to the window and peaked inside the window. He couldn't believe what he saw. He watched on as Blair argued with, of all people, Chris Jennings. "You were his last employer," insisted Chris. "He was attacked after leaving your house. You have to have some idea as to what happened to my brother."
"Not necessarily," countered Blair. "Just because he worked for me doesn't mean that I know, nor am I responsible, for what happened to your brother once he left this house."
Tom bit the inside of his mouth as he listened to Blair deny any knowledge of what had happened. He looked as smug as ever, but his minion was able to detect a few chinks in his demonic armor. Life amongst the mortals had weakened his natural instincts. If Chris were good, he could ask the question that would cause Blair to show his true colors. Unfortunately, Chris seemed unable to do this and each of his inquiries lead to a blatant denial. Even after he caught a glimpse of Tom in the window, Blair continued to remain mum about his involvement.
Yet Nicholas Blair seemed to be unable to take his eyes away from the window. His stare remained steady as Chris continued to talk, railing on about how he ought to have some clue as to what happened. It took a few minutes for Tom's brother to realize that Blair was no longer listening to him. Chris followed the man's eyes and cast an awkward glance toward the window. For the briefest of moments, Tom believed that his brother had seen him. He would not wait around to find out. Tom took to flight, desperately trying to escape all that was around him.
Tom fell back to earth miles away from the House-by-the-Sea; he knew that he had fled Collins property entirely. But that would do him no good because he would have to return to Blair's house before sunrise. The time away gave Nicholas plenty of opportunity to find out that he had botched the Winters murder. It also gave Barnabas Collins the chance to find his hiding place. The way events were moving, Tom felt that he wouldn't live through the night.
"But he cared to check up on me," he whispered softly as he rose to his feet. His older brother had come back to a town he obviously hated in order to find out what had happened to him. Maybe Chris had loved him all those years ago; maybe he had been unable to say so. Either way, he would be an excellent ally to have. But drafting Chris to his side would mean that Tom would have to show himself to his brother and reveal that he had become, of all things, a vampire. It would seem too improbable. Would his brother believe it? A confrontation between them would be painful, but it had to be done.
Now, if only he could find his brother. Although returning to Blair's house would be the most likely place to go, Tom had a spot he wanted to check first. The only reason Chris had known about Tom's death was Genevieve's telephone call. She had also been the one to ask him to return to Collinsport. It was highly probable that Chris would be checking in with her so that they could discuss his meeting with Blair. Catching them both would be the perfect occasion for him to tell them both that he was alive . . . in a sense. Tom took off for his former home, hoping upon hopes that he had guessed correctly.